GOLDBUTTE RESIDENT
TO RECEIVE NATIONAL AWARD FOR 59 YEARS OF CONTINUOUS WEATHER
DATA COLLECTION

A volunteer weather observer from Goldbutte,
Mont., was today presented with a top award from the National
Weather Service for maintaining continuous daily weather
readings at the same site for almost 59 years. Albert Fey, 67,
has provided weather readings since 1977 from his station 90
miles north of Great Falls. Mr. Fey has been recognized for expertly
recording eastern Montana's severe weather. His father, the late
Anthony Fey Jr., started recording the weather patterns at this
site in 1942.

"Data collected by Mr. Fey and other
observers helps create and maintain the nation's historical weather
records. His reports help define the weather patterns that occurred
in north central Montana and provide scientists with a valuable
climate record," said Meteorologist in Charge Ken Mielke,
of the Great
Falls Weather Service office. Mielke also noted that Fey
is an official NWS storm spotter, reporting all severe weather
events occurring in this area of Montana to the Great Falls forecast
office.

Mielke presented Fey with the "John
Campanius Holm Award" during a special ceremony today. This
award was one of 25 granted nationally and the only one presented
to a Montana cooperative weather observer this year.

Fey said the weather station was established
in 1905 at the residence of Elmer A. Smith at the old town site
in Goldbutte. After Smith moved in 1942, the station was taken
over by Anthony Fey Jr., who maintained the station until July
1, 1977, when he retired. It was then that Albert took over the
ranch and weather station.

Fey and his family have experienced many
extreme weather events through the years. Temperatures have ranged
from 46 degrees below zero (1968) to 105 degrees above (1961).

"In 1980, when Mt. St. Helen's erupted,
the volcanic dust was as thick as fog the morning after,"
Albert Fey said. He also recalled August 22-24,1992 when 10 inches
of snow fell and temperatures dropped just below freezing at
night. Fey said, "It was a most unusual event!

The Cooperative Weather Observation Program
consists of more than 11,000 volunteer observers who record temperature
and precipitation data daily. The weather service provides and
maintains the equipment used by this volunteer climatic and hydrologic
network. For more information about the Cooperative Weather Observation
Program, please visit http://205.156.54.206/om/coop/index.htm.

An agency of the Commerce Department' National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the National Weather
Service is the primary source of weather data, forecasts and
warnings for the United States and its territories. NWS operates
the most advanced weather and flood warning and forecast system
in the world, helping to protect lives and property and enhance
the national economy. To learn more, please visit http://www.nws.noaa.gov.